Visual Mapping

Dan Roam: the Journey of a Visual Storyteller

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 14:41:00 +0000

In the Sketchnote Army podcast, Mike Rohde sits down with bestselling author and visual thinking pioneer Dan Roam to explore a fascinating career that weaves together art, science, and the power of transforming confusion into clarity.

From Childhood Doodles to Professional Clarity

Long before Dan Roam became a visual strategist, drawing was his refuge. What started as a coping mechanism evolved into a profound professional insight: visual thinking isn't merely an art form, it's a methodology for solving real problems.

The Unexpected Marriage of Science and Art

During his university years, Roam uncovered something that would become central to his life's work: the visual language underlying both artistic composition and organic chemistry speaks the same language. Proportion, structure, balance—the principles guiding a masterpiece also structure a molecule. It was a revelation.

Rather than choose between his passions, Roam designed an unconventional career that bridges logical thinking and fine arts. He refused the false choice between disciplines, instead discovering the common visual logic that unites them. This interdisciplinary approach would become his superpower.

From Drafting Boards to Digital Screens

The early years of Roam's career were decidedly analog: exacto blades, rubber cement, and painstaking manual typography. When the Macintosh era arrived, bringing tools like PageMaker and FreeHand, the design world split into two camps—those who feared losing their craft and those who saw liberation.

Roam belonged to the latter group. He understood what others missed: technology wasn't a replacement for thinking; it was a tool to amplify it. By automating the mechanical aspects of design, digital tools freed him to focus on what truly mattered—clearer thinking and more powerful communication.

This mindset would define how he approached every technological shift to come.

A Sustainable Creative Ecosystem

Visual consulting provides real-world application and keeps him grounded in practical problem-solving. This feeds into content creation—books, courses, and educational materials that codify his methods and reach global audiences. Those materials, in turn, fuel speaking engagements where he shares insights and tests new ideas. Each component strengthens the others in a continuous cycle of learning, application, and teaching.

The Books That Defined Visual Thinking

Parallel to his consulting work, Roam embarked on a deeper exploration: how do you communicate complex ideas simply? His answer crystallized into a series of influential books:

The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and selling Ideas with Pictures
Blah Blah Blah: What to do when words don't work
Show and Tell: How Everybody Can Make Extraordinary Presentations
Draw to Win: A crash Course on how to lead, sell, and innovate with your Visual Mind
The Pop-Up Pitch: The two-hour creative Sprint to the Sale

Each book represents not just a collection of techniques, but a philosophy: clarity is possible for anyone willing to see differently.

AI as the next Frontier

As generative AI reshapes the creative landscape, Roam sees parallels to the analog-to-digital transition—but with higher stakes. Technology, he warns, can be a democratizing force for creativity. It can also become a crutch that erodes authentic thinking.

His guiding principle draws from Austin Kleon: Steal like an artist—but steal with honor. Acknowledge sources. Create something that matters. The goal isn't to resist tools; it's to use them without losing your humanity in the process.

The real danger isn't that AI creates for us. It's that we become dependent on it, outsourcing the struggle that births genuine insight.

The Next Chapter: Back of the Napkin 2.0

Roam's upcoming project promises to explore the frontier where human visual thinking meets artificial intelligence: The Back of the Napkin 2.0: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with the Robot.

The mission remains unchanged: teach people to navigate contemporary complexity while preserving what makes us human.

Want to dive deeper? Watch the full podcast episode here.

An updated mindmap of my everyday AI tools

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 17:10:00 +0000

Generative artificial intelligence is becoming part of our daily routines, and it is essential to organize the tools you use to make the most of them. I created this interactive mind map with MindMeister to structure the main AI services I use in my work of visual facilitation, training and content creation.

The map, whose icons were generated with the help of ChatGPT, is divided into major categories:

- Presentations and Infographics (Canva, Gamma, Napkin, MyLens) for quickly creating engaging visual materials;

- Mind mapping (MindMap AI, MyLens) for suggestions on structuring projects

- Web research (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini)

- Documents (Notebook LM, Mistral, Gemini) for analyzing, summarizing or reformulating texts

- Audio (Suno, Vook AI, Adobe Podcast, Notebook LM) for creating voices, podcasts and generative music — it is worth noting that at the time I publish this post, Notebook LM has just improved its podcast features

- Image and Video (DALL·E, Canva, Gemini) for illustrating my content.

Each tool in the map is clickable and leads directly to the corresponding platform, and this mind map is dynamic: I update it regularly based on my experiments.

Make the most of Canva with these 16 time saving shortcuts

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 18:18:00 +0000

Canva has become a go-to design tool for individuals and businesses alike, offering an easy-to-use platform for creating stunning visuals.

But did you know that knowing a few simple shortcuts can make your experience even smoother and save you a lot of time?

These 16 shortcuts may seem small, but they can streamline your workflow and free up time for the more creative aspects of your projects.

You can have a look at the mind map, created with MindMeister, below or access the online interactive version here.

Click on the image to enlarge it

Stay competitive in a changing business world with visual thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:53:00 +0000

The pace of change in today's economy is dizzying. According to the OECD, the average lifespan of a technical skill is now only 2 years, compared to 30 years in 1987. This fact is undeniable: the ability to learn and adapt is more important than ever to survive and thrive professionally.

Upskilling

In the face of this programmed obsolescence of skills, upskilling is emerging as a smart strategy.

Upskilling is a term increasingly used to describe the training process aimed at enhancing an employee's existing skills to keep them competitive and effective in their jobs amidst constant change.

A powerful lever for change

Visual thinking is much more than a communication technique. It is, above all, a mindset, accompanied by a range of techniques that go beyond traditional approaches. In particular, these techniques help simplify complex concepts, improve memorisation, stimulate creativity and facilitate team collaboration.

The applications of visual thinking are remarkably diverse and affect many professions. Therefore, in the mind map below, we have selected the top 10 professions that benefit most from visual thinking as part of an upskilling strategy. For each profession, the map shows the key contributions of visual thinking to improving existing skills.

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Investment in the future

Training in visual thinking is not just about acquiring an additional skill. It is about opening the door to innovation, creativity and constant adaptability in a professional world that is constantly reinventing itself. We offer workshops in French and in Spanish that enable any professional to integrate visual thinking and its key tools into their upskilling strategy.

Interacting with AI can now start with paper, pencil... or a mind map

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 17:12:00 +0000

Artificial intelligence is constantly pushing the boundaries of human-machine interaction. "Multimodality" now allows information to be extracted from handwritten notes. This advancement opens up new perspectives for creating mind maps. Let's explore this here.

Pixtral: The AI that deciphers your sketches

The French unicorn Mistral, specializing in AI, recently launched Pixtral, an open-source model capable of analyzing images provided by users. This feature, freely accessible via the Le Chat , offers fascinating possibilities. I decided to test this AI's ability to "read" and interpret a mind map quickly sketched on paper.

Step by step: From paper map to AI analysis

1. Creating a manual bubble map

During a recent visual thinking training for managers, I used a basic mind map (or bubble map) to gather participants' expectations. This simple and effective method allowed for quickly capturing group discussions.

2. Interacting with Pixtral

(Don't forget to select the Pixtral AI Model when prompting and uploading you image)

I then submitted a photo of this mindmap to Pixtral, asking: "Could you read this mind map and list, respecting the hierarchy of information, the elements of this map that represent participants' expectations at the beginning of a training?"

Pixtral's response, presented below, demonstrates its ability to extract the main topics from the map:

3. Transformation into a digital mind map

To go further, I asked Pixtral to generate the OPML code of the obtained list. I then:

- Copied this code into a simple text editor - Saved the file with the .opml extension - Imported this file into XMind to create a new digital mind map This experience reveals that, although promising, Pixtral's ability to perfectly recognize the hierarchy between topics still needs some improvement.

Conclusions and perspectives

This experience illustrates a true revolution: the possibility of "prompting" on paper becomes a reality. Visual AI tools like Pixtral are now capable of "reading" various forms of handwritten notes (texts, lists, diagrams, mind maps), paving the way for new interactions to develop information.

It's surprising that major mind mapping software publishers haven't yet integrated this innovation. However, it's highly likely that this functionality will soon be available in their tools.

Note that other AIs, such as ChatGPT or Claude, also offer similar "mind map reading" capabilities, thus expanding the possibilities of interaction between the analog and digital worlds.

This advancement promises to transform the way we capture, organize, and process information, combining the flexibility of paper with the power of AI.

New generations are facing a challenge: the digital chaos is disorganizing their thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sat, 08 Jun 2024 17:06:00 +0000

The new generations, especially those born between the mid-1990s and today, have grown up in a digital world where information is easily accessible through search engines and social networks. They are particularly skilled at navigating this digital landscape.

However, this ease with digital tools does not necessarily translate into a good understanding of information organisation methods, which are essential in many fields, particularly in scientific disciplines

The playlist syndrome

Young people are used to mixing albums and artists in music playlists without worrying about the traditional organisation by album or genre.

They see digital storage spaces as a large "laundry basket" where all files are mixed together.

This approach reflects a rather fluid way of thinking, but it can also lead to a certain disorganization. It is just as difficult to find a specific song in an unstructured playlist as it is to find a specific file in a non-hierarchical storage space.

The irruption of AI

Artificial intelligence has recently burst into our daily lives. It is increasingly used by students to carry out written assignments. If students get used to letting AI structure data for them, they risk not developing essential skills in terms of information organisation and management.

Students must practice sorting, prioritizing and connecting ideas on their own for effective long-term learning.

The same goes for the ability to write and argue by oneself, which is threatened by the systematic use of AI.

Students must learn to organise information manually

Mind maps and concept maps are particularly relevant tools for this. It is now clear that mind mapping and concept mapping help students to understand and memorize concepts better by allowing them to visualise ideas and their connections in a clear and organized way.

Teaching students to create their own idea organisation maps throughout their studies, whether for note-taking, revision or project planning, will help them to develop valuable cognitive and organizational skills that they can use in many different contexts.

The Origins of Visual Thinking: Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Tue, 07 May 2024 06:54:00 +0000

With this article, we are inaugurating a series of pieces that explore the main sources that have shaped visual thinking as we know it today, using geographical areas and countries as a guiding thread.

We begin with Africa. Recognized as the cradle of humanity, Africa is most likely also the birthplace of the first forms of symbolic expression.

The discovery of the oldest known graphic trace, an abstract drawing on a rock fragment dating back 73,000 years found in the Blombos Cave in South Africa, testifies to the antiquity of visual thinking on this continent.

The Origins of Visual Communication

Canadian paleoanthropologist Geneviève von Petzinger highlights, in her book "The First Signs", the paramount importance of Africa in the emergence of human communication and artistic expression. She puts forward the hypothesis that the foundations of our visual thinking and our ability to communicate through symbols are deeply rooted in our African heritage.

Von Petzinger proposes a fascinating theory on the origins and spread of the first abstract symbols created by humanity. According to her, it was the hunter-gatherers from Africa who played a key role in the propagation of these signs throughout the world.

When these groups migrated to different continents around 40,000 years ago, they would have carried with them a veritable "mental dictionary" of symbols. In adapting to new environments, they would have perpetuated and developed this system of visual communication, leaving an indelible mark on global rock art.

This theory suggests that the cognitive ability to create and use visual symbols to convey abstract concepts emerged in Homo sapiens while our ancestors were still living in Africa. This "basic repertoire" of symbols would have then traveled with human populations during their expansion into Europe and Asia.

The presence of similar geometric patterns in caves very far apart from each other can thus be explained by the existence of a form of "proto-writing" shared by various populations of modern humans. These signs would be the vestiges of this primordial system of visual communication.

The Influence of Africa on Modern Art

Cubism

The influence of Africa is also palpable in modern art, particularly in Cubism. Pioneer artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were deeply marked by African art, notably tribal masks and sculptures. These works inspired the Cubists to deconstruct objects into geometric shapes and reorganize these forms on the canvas, thereby revolutionizing perspective in Western art.

Jean-Michel Basquiat and the African Heritage

More recently, the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was also profoundly influenced by African art. This influence is visible in his use of symbols, shapes and colors that embody African culture. Basquiat combined these African references with influences from street art and graffiti to create a unique and powerful visual language.

Basquiat's interest in Africa can also be observed through his use of emblematic colors such as red, yellow and green in works like "Flexible" (1984) and "Portrait of Glenn" (1985).

Victor Ekpuk: Reconnecting with the African Sources of Visual Thinking

Victor Ekpuk is a renowned Nigerian artist, known for his work inspired by ancient writing systems and ancestral signs. His work challenges the stereotypes about Africa as a continent without writing, devoid of innovation and remarkable achievements.

His work is characterised by complex, large-scale compositions that fuse African writing, knowledge and aesthetics with his own artistic sensibility, as we can see in the video below.

Design Thinking and Visual Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 22:05:00 +0000

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Often, I am asked what the differences are between design thinking and visual thinking, which seem very similar. Both are increasingly used to stimulate innovation and creativity within organizations. They place the human at the center and encourage collaborative work. They promote "out of the box" thinking by relying on graphic and visual representations.

These two approaches are distinguished by their process and their purpose. Design thinking is an iterative process that seeks to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions that can be prototyped and tested. It is an analytical approach that follows successive stages, from understanding the client's needs to designing and testing innovative solutions. Moreover, design thinking is beginning to lead to dedicated university degrees (e.g., Stanford's d.school), while visual thinking is not yet represented in academic curricula.

On the other hand, visual thinking is a more intuitive approach that uses visual methods and tools to make group work easier and more effective. It aims to capture, organize, understand, and memorize ideas and information, stimulate everyone's creativity and participation, and provide visibility and readability. Visual thinking does not necessarily follow a linear process, but it uses all "visual" cognitive resources to better think, understand, learn, memorize, and communicate.

Although design thinking and visual thinking share many common points, especially the importance given to the human and collaboration, they are distinguished by their process and their purpose. In the end, they enrich each other and are very complementary.

Leadership, Creativity and Jazz

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:21:00 +0000

In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, companies are constantly seeking innovative ways to inspire their teams and foster creativity. Interestingly, the world of jazz music, with its improvisation, diversity, and unique leadership styles, offers valuable insights for the business community.

in this YouTube video, Deniz Ucbasaran, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Warwick Business School, draws parallels between jazz bands and entrepreneurial teams.

Jazz as a Model for Entrepreneurial Teams

Jazz groups are exemplary models for entrepreneurial teams operating in dynamic environments. The fluidity and adaptability required in jazz music mirror the conditions of the business world, where change is the only constant. Storytelling, a key element in jazz, also plays a significant role in leadership and talent management within entrepreneurial circles.

Leadership and Creativity in Jazz

The leadership style in jazz bands, as exemplified by legends like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington, is characterized by a willingness to embrace conflict and diversity. Leaders in jazz understand that conflict is the price paid for bringing together diverse talents, which can lead to radical innovation or, if not managed well, destructiveness.

Miles Davis, in particular, was known for pushing his band members out of their comfort zones, encouraging them to play in different keys and to embrace mistakes. This approach often led to fantastic, unexpected results, highlighting the importance of tolerance for errors and boundary-pushing in fostering creativity.

Diversity and conflict: The essence of Jazz

The ethos of jazz is centered around freedom of expression. It's about telling stories through music without being confined to a specific genre or period. This philosophy goes against the grain of conformity, encouraging musicians to explore and express their individuality.

Diversity in jazz is not just about different musical styles or backgrounds; it's about the unique contributions each musician brings to the table. This diversity can lead to conflict, but in the context of jazz, such conflict is not shunned but rather accepted as a catalyst for creativity and innovation.

Here is another video where Columbia Business School's Professors discuss how Jazz musicians often play wrong or don't know, but they help each other - a strength of a team is the ability to support and collaborate.

Entrepreneurial leaders can draw several lessons from jazz:

- Embrace diversity and conflict: Just as jazz groups thrive on the diverse talents of their members, businesses can benefit from a variety of perspectives and ideas, leading to innovation and better decision-making.

- Foster a culture of risk-takin: Encouraging team members to take risks and learn from mistakes can lead to greater creativity and innovation, much like improvisation in jazz.

- Lead collaboratively: Jazz bands often feature collaborative leadership, where the bandleader sets the tone but allows each musician to contribute their voice. This approach can be effective in business environments that value adaptability and improvisation.

- Storytelling as a leadership tool: In jazz, each piece tells a story, and similarly, leaders can use storytelling to make sense of complex business environments and guide their teams through change.

In conclusion, the world of jazz offers a rich tapestry of strategies for leadership, creativity, and innovation that can be applied to the entrepreneurial landscape. By adopting the principles of jazz—embracing diversity, encouraging risk-taking, leading collaboratively, and using storytelling— entrepreneurial leaders can cultivate an environment where innovation thrives and teams are empowered to perform at their best.

Drawing as a Memory Booster: Unveiling the Educational Power of Visual Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 18:09:00 +0000

The way we learn and retain information is a subject of ongoing research. A recent study from the University of Waterloo has shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of learning: visual thinking. In this article, we will examine the findings of this study and explore how visual thinking, particularly drawing, can enrich our educational experience.

What the Research Says

A study conducted by Myra Fernandes, Jeffrey Wammes, and Melissa Meade compared different learning methods, including reading, writing, and drawing. The results showed that drawing was nearly twice as effective for recalling information as other methods. Specifically, participants were able to recall 45% of the terms they had drawn, compared to just 20% of those they had written. Drawing engages multiple learning modalities: visual, kinesthetic, and semantic. Unlike other forms of learning that are often passive, drawing is an active activity. It compels learners to interact with the information, break it down, and reconstruct it in a way that makes sense to them.

Practical Classroom Applications

- Illustrated Notebooks: Encourage students to divide their notebooks into two sections: one for written notes and another for drawings and diagrams.

- Mind Mapping: Use mind maps to help students organize their ideas and create connections between different concepts.

- Sketchnoting: Encourage students to use sketchnoting to summarize topics.

- Data Visualization: Integrate simple data visualization exercises to help students better understand concepts visually.

In Conclusion

Visual thinking and its tools offer a promising avenue for enhancing learning. Not only do they engage multiple learning modalities, but they also diversify pedagogy and boost learner motivation.

Sources:

The Science of Drawing and Memory (Edutopia)

The Surprisingly Powerful Influence of Drawing on Memory (Study)

Unlocking Your Inner Innovator: The Transformative Power of Creative Confidence

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 15:15:00 +0000

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Have you ever thought you weren't creative? That creativity was reserved for artists, writers, or inventors? Think again! Creative confidence is that little spark that allows you to believe in your own creativity and take action. Imagine a work environment where every team member believes in their creative potential and is encouraged to express it. This is where creative confidence comes into play. This concept, developed by David Kelley, teaches us that creativity is not an exclusive gift, but an accessible skill for everyone and essential for fostering innovation.

Who is David Kelley?

David Kelley is a renowned figure in the field of design and innovation. He is the founder of IDEO, one the world’s leading innovation and design agency David is also the d.school’s founder, a hub for innovation, collaboration and creativity at Stanford University.

Here is the video of his TED talk on creative confidence.

Creativity is like a muscle

According to David Kelley, creativity is like a muscle that you can maintain and strengthen. It involves using your imagination to create something new, whether it's an idea, an object, or a new way of seeing the world. The key point is that we all have creative potential that is waiting to be tapped.

The Influence of Albert Bandura

The concept of creative confidence relies heavily on the work of psychologist Albert Bandura, a pioneer in social psychology. Bandura is best known for his theory on self-efficacy, the belief that each individual has the ability to influence their own internal functioning as well as the events that affect their life. This belief is at the heart of each individual's motivation and commitment.

Taking Action through Visual Thinking practices

By taking action, you shape your belief in your own ability to succeed, which in turn influences your future behaviors and decisions, according to Bandura’s works.

Incorporating drawing into your visual thinking practices is a powerful way to boost your creative confidence.

Sketching your ideas engages your mind differently. The act of drawing itself becomes an exploratory exercise, allowing you to see new connections and possibilities. This hands-on approach to problem-solving and idea generation fosters a sense of accomplishment and self-assurance, further solidifying your creative confidence.

Our workshops are designed to boost participants' creative confidence by helping them master key visual thinking techniques.

Elevate Your Skillset: The Transformative Power of Visual Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 15:16:00 +0000

Visual thinking is more than just a creative exercise; it's a versatile skill set that can profoundly impact various facets of your professional and personal life. From effective communication to innovative problem-solving, the benefits are manifold. Let's delve into the specific skills that visual thinking can help you cultivate.

Unlocking Communication Skills

Clarity of Expression

One of the most immediate benefits of visual thinking is the ability to simplify complex ideas. By translating abstract concepts into visual elements, you can make them more understandable and accessible. This skill is invaluable in professional settings, where clear communication is crucial.

Effective Presentations

Visual thinking also elevates the quality of your presentations. By incorporating visual elements that are engaging and memorable, you can capture your audience's attention more effectively. This skill is particularly useful in educational or corporate settings where conveying information clearly and compellingly is key.

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Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills

Filtering and Organizing Information

Visual thinking allows you to sift through a sea of information and focus on what's truly relevant. By organizing these selected pieces of information visually, you can manage them more efficiently, making this skill especially useful in research and data analysis.

Global Vision

Another advantage is the ability to see the bigger picture. Visual thinking enables you to group disparate pieces of information into a coherent whole, aiding in decision-making and problem-solving. This "global vision" is particularly beneficial in roles that require strategic planning or systems thinking.

Mastering Project Management Skills

Planning & Progress Tracking

Visual tools like mind maps, Gantt diagrams or Kanban boards can significantly improve project planning and tracking. These tools provide a clear roadmap, making it easier to allocate resources, set timelines, and monitor progress.

Cultivating Creativity and Innovation Skills

Creative Agility

In a rapidly changing environment, agility is as important as creativity. Creative Agility refers to the capacity to quickly adapt and generate creative solutions in response to unexpected situations. This skill is invaluable in roles that require quick thinking and adaptability, such as entrepreneurship or crisis management.

Thinking in Images and Metaphors

The ability to translate complex concepts into images or metaphors enriches your cognitive processes. This skill enhances not only your creativity but also your ability to communicate abstract ideas more tangibly.

Conclusion

In summary, visual thinking is not just an artistic endeavor but a holistic approach to skill development. Whether you're navigating the complexities of a professional setting or simply looking to enrich your personal life, the skills gained through visual thinking offer a wide range of benefits. From enhancing your communication abilities to fostering creative agility, the impact is both immediate and long-lasting. Embracing visual thinking is, therefore, a step towards a more competent, creative, and adaptable you.

Exploring the World of Free Reverse Image Search Platforms

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 13:08:00 +0000

In today's digital age, the internet is flooded with images. Whether you're a content creator, a marketer, or just a curious individual, there might be times when you come across an image and wonder about its origins or if there are similar images available. Enter the world of reverse image search tools. These tools allow you to upload an image and find out where it has been used online or discover visually similar photos. Let's dive into some of the best free tools available:

1. TinEye

TinEye is a pioneer in the realm of reverse image search. With this tool, you can easily discover where any online image has been used before. It's a straightforward platform:

How to Use TinEye: Simply visit the TinEye website, upload your image or paste the image URL, and let the tool do its magic. In seconds, you'll be presented with a list of websites where the image has appeared.

Cost: 100% free.

Link: https://tineye.com/

2. Reverse Image Search

This tool is perfect for those who are looking to find visually similar photos to any image they submit. The exciting news is that they've recently launched a new version called "Reverse Photo App" which is compatible with mobile devices and iPads, making it even more accessible for users on the go.

Cost: 100% free. Link: https://www.labnol.org/reverse/

3. Search by Image

If you're looking for a comprehensive reverse image search tool, "Search by Image" might be your best bet. It leverages over 30 search sources, including giants like Google, Bing, Yandex, Baidu, and of course, TinEye. What sets it apart is its open-source nature, available as a Chrome extension, making it super convenient for Chrome users.

Cost: 100% free. Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-by-image/cnojnbdhbhnkbcieeekonklommdnndci

4. Google Lens

Google Lens is not just a reverse image search tool; it's a visual search powerhouse. With Google Lens, you can use your camera or an existing image to search practically anything. Whether you're trying to identify a product, a plant, an animal, or even text in another language, Google Lens has got you covered. It's especially handy for students or professionals who want to decipher formulas or complex diagrams.

Cost: 100% free. Link: https://lens.google/

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The world of reverse image search is vast and filled with tools that cater to different needs. Whether you're trying to trace the origin of an image, find similar photos, or delve into visual search, there's a tool out there for you. And the best part? They're all free! So, the next time you're curious about an image, you know where to look.

Unleashing Creativity: Exploring the Synergy of XMind and Generative AI for Innovative Mind Mapping

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 19:55:00 +0000

A few weeks back, XMind approached me with a proposal for a webinar: an exploration of how generative AI can elevate the functionality of XMind maps. Generative AI refers to advanced deep-learning models capable of producing high-quality text, images, and other content based on the data they were trained on.

The world of Generative AI has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent months and Xmind Copilot was released in May 2023. This cutting-edge AI-powered tool acts as your creative partner throughout the mind mapping process, providing a significant boost to your creativity. With just a prompt, it can craft a mind map or instantly expand your ideas on a specific subject. Additionally, it can generate paragraphs for each topic you select.

One of the key highlights of combining mind mapping with Generative AI is the markdown format, which allows you to seamlessly import AI-generated text content into XMind, enriching your mind maps like never before.

✨ Here are the main AI Resources showcased in this video:

- XMind Copilot: https://xmind.ai/

- ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/

- Markdown Chrome Web Clipper: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/markdownload-markdown-web/pcmpcfapbekmbjjkdalcgopdkipoggdi?hl=en-GB
This extension works like a web clipper, but it downloads articles in markdown format.

- Microsoft Designer: https://designer.microsoft.com/
Microsoft Designer is a new AI-powered graphic design tool that helps you create stunning visuals in minutes.

- Adobe Firefly (Beta): https://www.adobe.com/sensei/generative-ai/firefly.html
Adobe Firefly has an easy prompt system where you simply type the words or description and the system will generate high quality images based on your input.

- Bing Image Creator: https://www.bing.com/create
Powered by an advanced version of the DALL∙E model, Bing Image Creator allows you to create stunning images simply by using your own words to describe the picture you want to see.

Enhance Your Sketchnoting and Graphic Facilitation Style: 3 Essential Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 13:14:00 +0000

You've started sketchnoting and/or graphic facilitation and want to maintain or improve your graphic style. Here are three simple tips.

"Being able to continuously improve your graphic style over time is one of the key skills for practicing visual facilitation successfully". This sentence opens the chapter on "Improving your graphic style" in my new book "Pro en facilitation visuelle" released in French a few weeks ago.

Here we're going to look at 3 techniques: simple doodling exercise, mini sketchnotes and a 15 minutes drawing routine.

Simple doodling techniques

Whether in a moment of silence or while listening to music or the radio, this technique allows you to refocus, to experience a moment of "flow" and to improve the quality of your drawings. It's important to slow down the graphic gesture, to live in the present moment by filling a page with geometric patterns, pictograms or lettering ideas. Here's an example.

You can also get inspired by this video showing us some fun doodling exercices:

Mini sketchnotes

These are sketchnotes with limited content, with no ambition to be shown to others or published. A simple, creative capture of ideas. This enables us to deploy the techniques inherent in sketchnoting, without pressure of time or quality. They can cover as little as half a page or a full notebook page. Using colour is optional. They can also be created using a digital tool such as a tablet. Here are a few examples.

The 15 minutes drawing routine

Similar to doodling, this technique involves regularly practicing certain graphic gestures: straight lines, oblique lines, regular strokes, circles, ovals and a few pictograms that you want to be able to execute easily. Here's an example of a graphics routine.

Conclusion

These three techniques are simple and easy to use. But if you want them to have a real effect on your graphic style, you need to keep them alive (by renewing the lines and graphic ideas) and, above all, practice them as regularly as possible.

How Generative AI is reinventing Visual Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Fri, 19 May 2023 07:25:00 +0000

On Thursday May 25th, I was speaking at a u webinar (Biggerplate Connect: The Visual Toolkit) about how generative AI is reinventing visual tools and what's coming next.

With the help of AI, we can now create easily stunning visuals that were once difficult to achieve. From text-to-image conversions to retouching images, removing unwanted objects or generating new branches in a mindmap, AI has revolutionized the way we create and edit visuals.

You can browse, in this interactive mindmap, the main resources I presented during the Webinar:

Your browser is not able to display frames. Please visit Reinventing Visual Thinking Tools with Generative AI Resource mindmap on MindMeister.

A new paradigm: the transition from a VICA to a BANI world

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Wed, 10 May 2023 12:35:00 +0000

click on the image to enlarge it

Will the new acronym BANI replace VICA?

In recent years, the world has been characterised as VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous). Recently, however, business strategy experts have been talking about the BANI world: brittle, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible. In this article, we will explore this paradigm shift and how to adapt to this new reality using visual tools.

Used by the US military since the 1980s and adopted by strategy consultants since the 2000s, the VUCA World concept has been adopted by many organisations, including the most innovative, as a framework for building strategy in recent years.

The VUCA world is characterised by economic and political instability, social disruption, unpredictable events, price and exchange rate volatility and widespread uncertainty.

Today, we may be entering a new world described by the acronym BANI. BANI (brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible) describes an environment marked by increasing fragility of our ecosystems, widespread anxiety about the future, increasing complexity of systems, non-linearity of thinking and lack of understanding of the issues at hand.

The creator of this new concept is Jamais Cascio, an American anthropologist, author and futurist (read more).

The BANI concept offers a new framework for building strategies today. In this new world, companies must be more aware of their impact on society and the environment and take steps to mitigate their negative effects. Individuals also have to be more aware of their role in society and their responsibility to contribute to a sustainable future.

The importance of non-linear thinking and visual tools

In the BANI world, the increasing complexity of social, environmental and economic problems requires non-linear thinking to better collaborate, communicate and make decisions.

Visual tools are particularly useful in fostering this non-linear thinking. They also help to clarify information and data, and to identify trends and patterns in this increasingly complex environment.

Some of the visual tools that support non-linear thinking may include:

Mind maps and tree diagrams: Helps to show the relationships between different elements in a non-linear way
Collaborative whiteboards: Collaborative whiteboards help several people work together on a project, generating and organising ideas in a non-linear way.
Sketchnoting and graphic facilitation: Encourage non-linear and creative representation of information.

All these tools encourage a creative exploration of information and help to present complex issues in a more understandable way. This is a first step towards adapting and succeeding in a BANI world.

The Visual Economy Report

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Tue, 02 May 2023 08:53:00 +0000

Canva, the all-in-one visual communication platform, published a very interesting report in April "The Visual Economy Report 2023". It provides a comprehensive view of how global business leaders can apply the principles of visual communication and generate greater economic returns for their businesses. The document is largely based on a survey of 1,600 business leaders in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Here is a summary of the key points of this edifying report and its findings.

The Global Context

The rise of social networks like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook has changed the way we communicate. We are witnessing a rapid increase in visual content in general and particularly in data visualizations in the enterprise.

Some key figures and facts

The average sustained attention span in front of a screen is only 47 seconds. The more textual the information, the less attention it gets.

In 10 years, Canva has reached 125 million users.

The visual creative and design software industry represents a constantly growing business, currently valued at $110 billion.

Key Findings

We have entered the era of the visual economy, driven by the content consumption patterns of Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2010), who represent an increasingly important part of the working world.

Visual information is becoming the dominant way to communicate and collaborate. As a result, the report shows that companies that invest in visual communication are ahead of their competitors.

The explosion of generative AI comes at an opportune time as there is a rapidly growing demand for visual content to be satisfied, and software using this AI is making this content creation easier for businesses.

Below you can discover an infographic that summarizes the key points of this report. Click on the image to enlarge it.

How to spark Joy in your Visual Content

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 16:46:00 +0000

Ingrid Fetell Lee is a designer based in New York. She has researched how shapes, colours and textures can influence our state of mind. The results of this work are reflected in a book that has become an international bestseller: Joyful.

Ingrid Fetell Lee talks about 10 "aesthetic principles" for promoting joy visually. They are backed up by numerous studies in psychology and anthropology.

They can be applied to any visual content like graphic facilitation, sketchnoting, mind mapping or presentation design.

Above is a photography Moodboard with the 10 aesthetic principles suggested by Ingrid Fetell Lee.

Energy

Express energy in your visuals with bright images and vibrant colours. The symbolism of different colours varies from culture to culture, but it seems that brightness is a dimension that is universally associated with joy.

Abundance

Any collection of colourful objects, such as confetti, encourages a mental association with abundance.

Freedom

Paths to the horizon, open spaces and natural landscapes evoke freedom. Deep lines of sight, views of the horizon encourage a sense of freedom.

Harmony

The circle has symbolised harmony in many cultures since ancient times. Symmetry (preferably radial), visual patterns and rhythms promote the perception of harmony. The human eye naturally looks for a common denominator between different objects and you can make them appear to go together. The common denominator can be size, shape or colour. We love pattern and rhythm. The structured repetition of elements creates a basic level of harmony. Almost all cultures use patterns in their decorative arts.

In addition, a good visual flow, without extraneous angles, allows the eye to move easily.

Play

Play is one of the most important sources of joy available to us and has deep roots in human life.

Circular objects and loops have been associated with playfulness for thousands of years, while sharp angles are associated with danger and negativity.

Surprise

If the essence of visual surprise lies in the contrast between an object and its context, then to increase surprise we should increase the contrast.

Transcendence

Like joy, metaphors for health, dynamism and positivity have an ascending dimension ("to be at the top of one's career" or "to be held in high esteem"). On the other hand, people tend to feel a natural attraction to things that float or fly.

Magic

Visual effects, and iridescence in particular, contribute to a sense of magic. Iridescent materials have been considered magical since ancient times.

Celebration

People are the most important element of any celebration.

Like the pop of a champagne bottle, the explosive shapes suggest the release of energy previously under pressure, reflecting the sudden burst of joy that takes place during celebrations.

Renewal

"Organic forms bring the fluidity of the living world," says Ingrid Fetell. Flowering and S-curves are recommended to represent renewal and life.

How to Summarize a Youtube Video using MindMeister

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 16:50:00 +0000

Nowadays YouTube is one of the most popular sources of Information on a variety of topics. But most of us don't take notes while watching interesting Youtube videos. MindMeister can really make it easy to extract and organize key points from a video while we are watching it. Let's see how below.

A simple process

- Open a new MindMeister mind map

- Copy (on Youtube) the URL of the video you want to summarize

- Paste the URL in the center of the new mind map. You'll get an embedded video player

- Watch the video while mind mapping around it

An example

Here's an example of a Youtube video summarized using MindMeister.

In this very interesting video, one of the most popular TED talks of all time, psychiatrist Robert Waldinger shares important scientific findings on true happiness and satisfaction.

Click on the image below to access the complete and interactive version of the mind map.

Notability as a Visual Note Taking Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 10:42:00 +0000

Notability is a note-taking app: annotate documents, sketch ideas, record lectures on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It combines handwriting, typing, audio recordings, and photos so you can create notes that fit your needs.

For Visual Thinkers, Notability is really a good choice as a note taking tool. In this tutorial, New York based profesional Visual Thinker Zovi shows how she uses Notability as a digital sketchnoting tool

Some very interesting Notability 's features for Visual Note Taking:

You can import PDF documents and write directly on top of them
You can search your handwriting
Notability can convert your writing to text
You can audio record a meeting or session.

You can select your drawings, scribbles, and notes and move them, resize, recolor them. The editing ability is remarkable.

Drawing perfect shapes and importing hand drawn text in Notability

In this tutorial, Tom Solid gives us some tips on how to create perfect shapes and convert quickly your hand drawn text into editable text in Notability.

12 essential MindNode Shortcuts on Mac

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 10:35:00 +0000

Click on the mindmap to enlarge it

MindNode is a particularly user-friendly mind mapping tool for creating clear and appealing mind maps. In my opinion, MindNode's user interface is remarkable. It allows you to quickly organize your ideas into a beautiful mind map.

The experience is even more fluid if you use keyboard shortcuts. I selected 12 of them that I consider as being essential on Mac. They are displayed in the mind map above.

These trends that are boosting visual thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 08:56:00 +0000

We see around us more and more mind maps, sketchnotes, infographics or graphic facilitation murals. There is also a real trend for a return to paper and hand-drawing with techniques such as Bullet Journal, Lettering or Zen Tangle. There are a thousand ways to use visual thinking that are impacting the way we work and learn. I would like to give you an overview of the main trends that "speak the language of visual thinking" and make it advance.

Agile

We often talk about "Agile methodologies". In reality, Agile is more of a mindset. Coming from proven software development methods, Agile is now used in various areas of the enterprise. It makes extensive use of visual tools such as mind maps, graphic facilitation techniques, Kanban, etc...

Bullet Journal

Invented by American designer Ryder Carroll, Bullet Journal is a notebook where everything is drawn and written by hand. It gathers agenda and notes to better organize oneself. It also has a strong creative and visual dimension that is very close to sketchnoting. In addition to Bullet Journal, we can also observe the rise of other visual techniques related to the use of the hand and the notebook: Zen Tangle, Lettering, Urban Sketching ....

Design Thinking

It is a methodology that is inspired by the way designers think about innovation and new products development. It is nowadays considered as strategic for companies that innovate.

In Design Thinking, visual thinking plays an essential role. At the heart of the design method, in brainstorming, drawing is a tool for dialogue, exchange and sharing creativity.

Cognitive Enhancement

Nowadays there is a real trend around cognitive enhancement: speed reading, personal productivity, memory development, ... The tools for cognitive enhancement draw abundantly from mind maps, concept maps and sketchnoting techniques.

Graphic Facilitation

Graphic facilitation takes advantage of visual tools to lead people toward a goal in meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences. The graphics are usually drawn by hand, by a person called a graphic facilitator who may create the graphics in real time during the event.

Legal Design

The aim of legal design is to find an innovative way to explain law in a way that makes it more interesting, easy to understand and more accessible. Legal design involves graphical representation, clear and simple language, and new technology.

Presentation Design

Inspired by Nancy Duarte and the contributions of Garr Reynolds and his Presentation Zen approach, this movement seeks to make presentations more visual, simpler, and more memorable. New digital tools support the Presentation Design movement, among which we can mention Canva, Genially or Haiku Deck.

Visual Management

Visual management is based on the visual perception of information. Inspired by lean management, it seeks to limit waste for greater efficiency and performance in the workplace.

The Future

We can see three main trends for the next few years: the growth of emerging professions related to visual thinking, the continued development of visual software and the rising prominence of visual thinking skills among the workforce.

New professions have emerged during the last years. They are related to visual thinking: Visual Thinking Facilitator, Graphic Facilitator, Graphic Designer and Design Thinking Consultant to name a few.

We also believe in the growth of software related to the practice of visual thinking. This is a phenomenon of great magnitude that leads to the development of software companies like Canva, Mural, Miro, Milanote and so on.

On a global scale, what is at stake is the growing role of graphicacy (the ability to understand and present information visually) in a world in which innovation and creativity are becoming more and more strategic.

New Book: Organise ideas by Oliver Caviglioli and David Goodwin

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Sun, 16 Jan 2022 18:33:00 +0000

Today I would like to tell you about a new book I recently had the pleasure to read: Organise Ideas. Richly illustrated, extensively documented, the book explains in great detail how choosing and designing the right graphic organisers can affect how much information students understand and remember,

The authors:

Oliver Caviglioli is a visual thinking expert and author of several books on its use in education.

David Goodwin is a geography professor and visual thinking practitioner.

The content

The authors distinguish and present 4 types of graphic organisers: for defining something, comparing something, sequencing something temporally or showing cause and effect

With a rigorous discussion of evidence and meticulous explanatory approach, this book is saying that we organise ourselves in space in a similar way to how we organise ideas in our heads. Graphic organisers allow us to externalise our thinking.

Without them, you can only really think of a few things at a time before getting overwhelmed. So when you put what’s in your head out there, you can think of more things, and you can physically arrange them.

Over 35 visual organizers are explained for step-by-step construction. Over 50 teachers each have a double-page spread in which they reveal how they use them in their teaching - across the full age range and span of subjects.

Although it focuses mostly on graphic organisers, Organise Ideas is an essential reference for all those who wish to enrich their teaching through visual thinking.

Mind Mapping: introducing the all-new MindMeister

noreply@blogger.com (Philippe Boukobza) — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 18:49:00 +0000

Yesterday, MindMeister, the pioneer of collaborative mind mapping, officially launches its new version that will delight mind mapping enthusiasts! Here's an overview of what's new.

Starting from today, all new users will only have access to the new version. Existing users can choose to use either the old or the new version.

Map Editor

The new map editor includes an intuitive, inline context menu. This replaces the sidebar in the older interface. From here, you can change a topic's visual style and access other features quickly. The new editor is generally cleaner and more modern. That means you can easily edit your maps and discover new Panda features intuitively.

Customization

The new MindMeister is built to be flexible. The software has improved topic formatting, including new options for size, style, shape, color and layout.

New Map Layouts

MindMeister has updated map layout options to support org charts and lists– you can even have multiple topic types in the same map. They also included a highly-requested feature: free positioning for every topic.

Outline Mode

Outline mode unifies two popular note-taking styles, linear notes and mind maps. You can automatically convert outline lists into mind maps (and vice versa) by selecting “Outline” or “Mind Map''. It’s perfect for planning and structuring essays or reports.

Improved MeisterTask Integration

The new MeisterTask integration is much more powerful and intuitive. Previously, you could only link each mind map to a single project in MeisterTask. Now you can link each mind map to any number of projects in MeisterTask and export tasks to the appropriate project.